Fury over beer price hike at Ealing Festival

MUSIC FANS at Ealing Festival claim they were ripped off by extortionate bar prices and blame the council for refusing to cap them.

Phil Brewin, who ran the bar at the event in Walpole Park from 1996 to 2003, is one of the many who were shocked by the costs, including £4.30 for the same pint of bitter that could be bought in a nearby pub for £3.15.

He said: "I go every year and it's the first time the prices have been hiked to that sort of level.

"The charges would've had to have been agreed by the council, that's standard practice and would have been in the tender documents for any festival run by the local authority.

"Usually they're kept about the same level as average prices in local pubs. You would have thought the local authority would have wanted to protect its rate payers, especially as the entrance fee went up from £1 to £4 this year.

"People understood about the entrance fee, given the current financial situation, but there was a huge amount of moaning about the bar prices."

Mr Brewin, who also used to run the Red Lion in Isleworth, added that the pricing seemed to have backfired, with more people than usual bringing in their own cans of beer.

He said: "I'm not in the business of running bars any more so my comments are simply as a festival lover, it's not sour grapes or anything like that. I just think the festival has built up a tremendous amount of goodwill throughout its 27 years and this has dented it a bit, which is a shame."

A council spokeswoman said: "The contract to run the festival bar was put out to open tender this year. Just two companies submitted bids and both had similar bar price lists.

"Although the prices charged for drinks are comparable to what you would expect to pay at a large outdoor event, we have passed on this feedback to the bar operator.

"We also want to remind people for next year they are allowed to bring their own drinks, including alcohol, provided they aren't in glass containers."